Prior to that historic appointment, Simmons served as the president of Smith College, a Seven Sisters institution and one of the largest women’s colleges in the U.S., with her tenure starting in 1995. Ruth Simmons made history when she became the first Black female president of Brown University, considered to be one of America’s elite Ivy League higher education institutions, in November 2000. After her acceptance in 1987 in NASA Astronaut Group 12, the first group of astronauts after the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, she prepared to go into space. Women's History Month history, origins, and how the U.S. military observes and recognizes the contributions of women who have served. Your email address will not be published. She lost her reelection bid in 1994 and stepped down in 1995. Following her successful mission on the Endeavor, Jemison left NASA and founded a technology research company and later formed a nonprofit foundation. Before she received the appointment as an associate justice on the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg had a reputation in the legal profession as a leading advocate for gender equality and women’s rights. She co-founded the Women’s Rights Law Reporter in 1970 and won five cases before the Supreme Court dealing primarily with significant legal advances for women under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. (You can unsubscribe anytime), [awesome-weather location="Washington, DC USA" units="F" owm_city_id="4140963" size="wide" forecast_days="3" hide_stats="0" background_by_weather="1" text_color="#fff"], Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker, 2020 Women’s History Month: The Leaders Who Blazed the Trail. As the president of Smith, she became the first Black woman to head a major college or program. Women’s History Month is a month-long celebration of women’s contributions to society and history that is observed during the month of March in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and is observed during the month of October in Canada. With that achievement, Pratt became the first Black woman elected to lead a major American city. Required fields are marked *. Women’s history is integral to understanding American history — and not just one month per year Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) 2020 Women’s History Month theme. © Copyright 2020, Washington Informer Newspaper. 0 257 3 minutes read. March is Women's History Month and well over 200,000 women serve on active duty in the U.S. military. As a justice, Ginsburg has established herself as a jurist who supports the legal rights of women whether in abortion rights, discrimination whether based on sex, employment or pay and equal access cases. Voices to Celebrate Women’s History Month February 25, 2020 Click the stories below to hear the voices of many women who have challenged gender norms, advanced their fields, and left a lasting legacy. The Washington Informer has selected four female leaders who made history and inspired other women to follow in their footsteps. Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Courtesy photo) Each year the National Women’s History Alliance chooses a theme for Women’s History Month. Want even more stories? In 1980, President Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and she worked on that court until Clinton tapped her for the Supreme Court, where she joined Sandra Day O’Connor as the second women ever appointed to the high court. Presently, she serves as founding director of the University of the District of Columbia’s Institute for Politics, Policy and History. Sign me up! Sign up for our Story of the Week newsletter to discover a new voice every week. On Nov. 6, 1990, the residents of the District of Columbia made history when they elected Sharon Pratt as the city’s first female mayor. She has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame. Born in Alabama and raised in Chicago, Jemison graduated from Stanford University with degrees in chemical engineering as well as African and African American studies. National Bar Association Declares Supreme Court Nominee a Pandemic for Black and Brown Americans. While in Los Angeles, she took graduate engineering courses and applied for the space shuttle program. National 2020 Women’s History Month: The Leaders Who Blazed the Trail. The 2019 theme is "Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence." The theme for 2020 is "Valiant Women of the Vote." Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tumblr Pinterest Reddit VKontakte Odnoklassniki Pocket. She also taught at the Columbia School of Law from 1972-1980, where she became the first female to get tenure and co-authored the first textbook on sex discrimination. Previous themes have included "Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet"(2009) and "Celebrating Women in STEM" (2013). Your email address will not be published. Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from The Washington Informer. Each year, Americans celebrate Women’s History Month in March to highlight the contributions of women. Pratt’s tenure as mayor had its troubles with the city heading into financial chaos and political infighting with members of the D.C. Council. March is National Women's History Month, but since women are pretty historic year-round, it begs the question: Why March? Noting the effectiveness of her advocacy, the late Antonin Scalia, who served on the Supreme Court with Ginsburg for decades, said “she became the leading and very successful litigator on behalf of women’s rights — The Thurgood Marshall of that cause, so to speak.”. The 2020 theme is #BecauseOfYou, celebrating the women and girls in Canada who have made, and continue to make, a lasting impact. Mae Jemison, an African American female engineer, physician and astronaut, became the first Black woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. Jemison and her crew orbited the Earth for nearly eight days in September 1992. These contributions took place despite the lingering sexism and, in the case of Black women, racism that exists in the country. A native of Grapeland, Texas, Simmons received her bachelor’s degree from Dillard University in 1967 and her master’s and doctorate from Harvard University in Romance Literature in 1970 and 1973, respectively. Pratt also made history when in 1983 when she became the first woman and first Black to serve as vice president of community affairs at Pepco, the D.C. region’s utility company. Pratt, a native Washingtonian who received her bachelor’s degree from Howard University and her juris doctorate from the Howard University School of Law, had many years of Democratic Party politics before she ran for mayor. In the U.S., it’s been officially celebrated since March of 1987. Her academic career took her to the University of New Orleans, California State University, Northridge, the University of Southern California, Princeton and Spelman College. In her later years, Pratt opened up a consulting firm and taught at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School Institute of Politics. While at Smith, she helped set up its engineering program and at Brown University, Time magazine selected her as “America’s Best College President” in 2001. After serving in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Siberia, she moved to practice in Los Angeles. Yes, I would like to receive emails from Washington Informer Newspaper. Nonpartisan Groups Aid Voter Registration Efforts in D.C. MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN: Ruth Bader Ginsburg a Role Model for All, Father and Son Take on Prostate Cancer — and Win, The District’s Home Rule History and Statehood Goal, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Death Could Prove Fatal to American Democracy, Eisenhower and Civil Rights: The Moderate Approach, Be a Part of The Washington Informer Legacy. She served as a professor of law at the Rutgers Law School, starting in 1963 and receiving tenure in 1969. James Wright Send an email March 18, 2020. On Dec. 4, 2017, Brown again made history when she became the first woman to serve as president of Prairie View A&M University in Texas, a historically Black institution. She then proceeded to Cornell University where she received a medical degree. History of Women’s […] She served as the treasurer of the DNC from 1985-1989. All Rights Reserved. From 1977-1990, Pratt represented the District on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the first woman to hold that position. A donation of your choice empowers our journalists to continue the work to better inform, educate and empower you through technology and resources that you use.